A variety of surgical procedures are known that involve the attachment of soft tissue to bone. Examples of such procedures in the shoulder include but are not limited to open and arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs of the shoulder, acromioclavicular separation repair, bankart lesion repair, biceps tenodesis, deltoid repair, and capsular shift or capsulolabral reconstruction. Representative examples of procedures in the knee include but are not limited to lateral and/or medial collateral ligament repair, iliotibial band tenodesis, patellar tendon repair and posterior tendon repair. In the elbow, ulnar or radial collateral ligament reconstruction and biceps tendon reattachment may be performed while representative foot/ankle repairs may include medial and/or lateral stabilization, Achilles tendon repair, midfoot reconstruction and hallux valgus reconstruction. Such procedures typically require the positive anchoring of a suture to the bone or bony site. The anchored suture is then attached to the muscle, tendon, ligament or other soft tissue component so as to maintain such component in position during the healing process.
Previously used suture anchors have demonstrated a tendency to pull out of the anchor site when considerable forces are applied to or generated by the soft tissue component. Additionally, it has been noted that some currently available suture anchors require an inordinate amount of torque to be applied in order to drive the anchor into the bone. Finally, some heretofore known anchor configurations do not allow the anchor to be easily retrieved in order to replace a broken suture or for replacement with a larger anchor. Thus, a need exists for a high strength suture anchor for use in surgical procedures, with which a positive anchorage is achieved and which is easily, quickly and reversibly driven into a bony site.